Grace and Precision – Jose Limon

 

In the first portion, Mazurkas, the dancers are accompanied by a pianist, and match their movements to the music. In a few moment, the precision is lost, and the notes are incongruous to their footwork, but the moments pass so quickly it is difficult to judge if it is a quality inherent the music, or an actual fault of the dancers. The dancers never falter in relation to each other, and their movements are precisely coordinated. This is especially evident in the group dances, particularly that of the four women; they circle around each other fluidly, breaking and reforming the ring as they move across the stage, and despite their proximity, never touching. Their circling is graceful, their raised arms calling to mind blooming flowers, or fractals moving. As the piece continues, the graceful fluidity is interspersed with short abrupt movements, to one of the later partner dances, where the pair move like clockwork until they separate. When the dancers repeat the opening dance at the end of the performance, they move as fluidly and gracefully as they had before.

Carlota, the second performance, is very different from the dance preceding it. From the first seconds, the lead dancer’s frighting screams set Carlota apart. The dance is based on a set narrative, and the the dancers’ movements are more to convey specific actions or characterizations than to convey abstract themes or emotions; thus, the dance becomes a sort of play, with the main character of a scene prominently in the front, and the other characters remaining like graceful statues in the background. The lack of music create another need for precision; in addition to being in tune to the other dancers, they must be aware of the rhythm they make with their movements. The stomping and clapping mimics drums, and adds gravity to the situation, breaking the silence.

The third performance is  a narrative, but unlike Carlota, There is a Time is not as straightforward. The dances is more abstract, and portrays feeling more than it does action; the dancers movements are light and airy, creating an illusion of effortlessness. In this manner, precision is simultaneously important and disregarded; the dancers precisely put on the facade of being imprecise as to make the movements appear natural and not practiced. Like with Mazurkas, the dancers form, break, and recreate a circle, and spin gracefully and fluidly around each other.

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